Baby Bottle (1)

The rubber on the teat has gone hard but still in fairly good condition. Unlike modern bottles which are open at one end, on the opposite end to the teat there is a rubber valve which apparently was a wonderful device to fill the baby with wind!! The bottle has the name of "Boots" embossed on the side.

Baby Bottle (2)

This is a particularly good specimen; the "Boots" name is etched in the glass (either chemically or sand blasted)

Breast Reliever

No, not a musical instrument but a breast reliever used by a mother to express milk.

Glass Measure (1)

This is a four fluid ounce measure ( 20 fluid ounces to the pint) used in dispensaries before metrication.16cm. in height, compare with next one.

Glass Measure (2)

This is the baby of measures. It was used for measuring "minims" (one drop) . 60 minims made a fluid drachm and there were 8 drachms to the ounce. Stands just under 5cm. tall.

Mystery Object No. 1

Made of brass, the "Boots" scroll sign in mirror image. Possibly part of a stamp, any suggestions as to what it actually is to me please. Measures 5cm. x 3.5cm.

Mystery Object No. 2

Made of plastic and resembling a feeler gauge used for setting spark plugs. Printed with "Owbridge's Lung Tonic" etc. Possibly (just a guess) a tooth pick given by a sales rep. to a pharmacist. Measures (closed) 5cm. x 0.75cm.

Enema Syringe

After looking at bottle feeders we go to the other end! A wonderful specimen tracked down by friends in my native Lincolnshire. Inside the tin lid are full details on the use of the item (it involves copious amounts of soapy water!) The rubber tubing has suffered from the passage of time and would break at any attempt to straighten it.

Senna Jar

Very uncommon to find these complete; this one was ploughed up in a Lincolnshire field and the matching lid found at a local antiques fair.

Senna part 2

Popular up to the later sixties, Senna pods were brewed in the same manner as a pot of tea to make a laxative liquid. There were two grades available, Alexandrian ,the best, and Tinnevelly, for the less affluent. Those featured bear the label of Philip Egerton M.P.S. Church Street Pharmacy, Ashbourne. This pharmacy was to be taken over by Boots who later moved to the St. John St. premises in 1948.

Infusion Pot

Works on same principle as a tea-pot. Leaves etc. were placed on a grid inside the pot and hot water added. After allowing to infuse, a liquid containing the medicament was poured out for use.

Pill Machine

Solid dose medication used to be in the form of either powders or pills before the discovery of a tabletting process. This is a fine example of a pill machine: it served to cut the pill mass into equal sized pieces which were then rounded roughly between the fingers The hollowed out disc (pill rounder) at the right was used to roll the pill in circles on a bench producing an almost perfect sphere.

Powder Trestle

Powders were prepared and wrapped in single dose units. To ensure that all the wrapped powders were exactly the same size the powder trestle was used as a gauge. Completed powders were bundled and tied with red string. Woe betide any apprentice whose powders leaked out of the wrappers!!

Pill Boxes

Generally they would be made of card such as the one on the left containing Beechams Pills - "Worth a guinea a box" according to the adverts but priced at 3shillings and 3 pence. The box on the right containing "Gout and Rheumatic Pills" is turned out of wood and bears the name "James Osborne M.P.S. , Medical Pharmacy, ASHBOURNE".

Shaving Stick Holder

When I purchased this item it had been used as a holder for sewing needles. It bears the embossed wording on the front face "sole agents, Boots Pure Drug Co." and on the cap "Regesan Shaving Stick". Regesan was a brand name used by Boots up to the late sixties.

Moulds

The mould on the left was used for producing suppositories - a favourite with examiners was a batch of suppositories containing copper sulphate because if you poured the mixture whilst too warm the result was white suppositories with blue tips!! The mould on the right was used to prepare bougies - like a suppository but a lot slimmer to be inserted into the nostril or other narrow orifice (you work it out!!)

Nelson's Inhaler

Takes its name from Dr. Nelson the designer of the original inhaler. Aromatic substances (e.g.Friars Balsam) plus hot water were placed in the vessel and the vapour inhaled. Despite all the high tech equipment available in these times, it is interesting to note that steam inhalers are making a come back.

Pharmacy Bottles

I have collected bottles over the years and these are a representative sample of my collection. They are all the LUG (label under glass) style and look very attractive with the gold leaf surround to the labels. Those which would have contained a powder have the weight scratched into the shoulder so that at stocktaking times it was only necessary to weigh the entire item and then calculate the weight of the contents by subtraction. On the left you will see a green ribbed bottle which contained poison - the ribs were to alert you to the contents even in bad light. Apparently during war-time when such bottles were scarce, it was the practice to attach a strip of sand paper around a plain bottle as a substitute for the ribs.

Eye Ointment Pedestals

Before the use of collapsable tubes, eye ointments were prepared in these pedestals and covered with a greaseproof paper. In use the disc shaped item was placed against the infected eye in order to administer medication. Thomas Singleton (1700-1779) sold the ointment in these pots and following his death Stephen Green, the famous potter, who had married Singleton's grand-daughter took over the business. By 1832 the ointment was so popular that legal action was taken to prevent copycat pots. The pot on the left is very rare and dates back to 1830.

Porcelain Jar

Stands about 13cm. high and has an internal container to hold the Extract of Aloes. Liberated from a pharmacy in the Lake District which was closing down.

Atomiser

Not another enema syringe!! This is an old fashioned atomiser for delivering medication in the form of a mist into the nostrils - before we had pressurised containers.

More Jars

Known as L.U.G. jars - Labels Under Glass. These are my latest aquisitions. The Glycerin jar has an unusual top, not the usual stopper but an open one to enable pouring of the viscous liquid.

First Aid 1

First Aid Kit

This also features in the previous picture. Some of the contents are intact - ampoule of Tincture of Iodine, Boric Lints, Boric Ointment - major trauma anyone!! The latter two items are now in the category of banned substances.

Fynnon Salts

Marketed up to quite recently and the tin hadn't changed a whole lot either. This was clearly around at the time when price increases weren't expected.

Leech Jar

This takes pride of place in my display. Originals in good condition cost an arm and a leg - this is a replica of one held at the HQ of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. It was given to me by friends when I retired.

Bottle Stopper

A cork, long gone, would have been inserted in the under side of the porcelain stopper.It will be about 120 years old as it lists the sites of Jesse Boot's first six shops.

Tins

How many of these do you recall?

More Tins

A couple of these are a little more recent. The Childrens Cough Pastille tin was (and still is) full of shirt buttons when I bought it. Do people still save buttons?

Mortar and Pestle

This is the traditional mortar and pestle that everyone recognises. They were manufactured from Wedgewood in various sizes - this is a No.4. I have a No. 9, a blow from which would stop a horse!!

Pill Mortar & Pestle

Not the usual shape as this was a specialised piece of equipment used for preparing the stiff paste from which pills were made. The end of the pestle would rest in the palm of the hand and it wasn't uncommon for it to raise a blister.

Glass Ear Syringe

My latest acquisition - I think I've got all orifices covered now, so to speak!!